Svetlana and Yuriy Panteleenko adopted the bear named Stepan when he was aged just three months. Today the big mammal is 23 years old, weighs a whopping 300lb and stands at a height of more than 7ft

The idea of sitting down for dinner with a 300lb bear is enough to put most people off their food.

But for one family from Russia this wild idea is actually a way of life that extends far beyond sharing the odd meal at the dinner table.

On the surface Svetlana and Yuriy Panteleenko appear like any other ordinary couple, but for their 23-year-old bear named Stepan.

He also stocks up on a hefty 25kg of fish, vegetables and eggs - meaning dinner time at the Panteleenko's is never a breeze.

But fortunately for Stepan, he's also a football fanatic so works off the gut-busting amount of food his parents serve him every day. Svetlana and Yuriy adopted Stepan when he was aged just three months.


'When we adopted him, he was only three-months-old and had been found by hunters in the forest having lost his mother. He was in a very bad condition. 'He absolutely loves people and is a really sociable bear - despite what people might think, he is not aggressive at all. We have never been bitten by Stepan.

(h/t: dailymail)